Buggy-boot closure.



No. 828,082. PATENTED AUG. 7, 1906. T. BARTHOLQMEW 80F. SCHULTZ. BUGGY BOOT CLOSURE.

- APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. THOMAS BARTHOLOMEW AND FRANK SCHULTZ, OF BASILJOHIO.

BUGGY-BOOT CLOSURE.

Patented Aug. '7, i906.

Application filed Fuly 26. 1906. Serial No 271,360,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS BA'RTHoLo- MEW and FRANK SoHoLrz, citizens of the United States, residing at Basil, in the county of Fairfield and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Im rovements in Buggy- Boot Closures, of w ich the following is a specification.

In vehicles of certain types the body or box is commonly closed in the rear of the seat by a board or leather top, often called a boot, detachably secured in sueh'manner that it may be raised to permit access to the in.- terior of the box. To provide for thus closing a vehicle-box by devices that are easily attached even after the vehicle is in use, that hold the box 0 en when it has been opened and when it is c osed hold it so firmly closed that there is neither rattling nor wear, and that permit opening or closing as quickly as if no such devices were present are objects of our invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle-body provided with our devices, the boot being open and parts being broken away- Fig. 2 is a similar view, the boot being closed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged lan view of the bootsecuring devices. Fig. 4 1s a side elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively an elevation and a plan view showing a modified construction.

In the drawings, A represents a buggybody of the piano-box t e, and B a leather boot having the usual 'ght skeleton frame C, covered with leather, which in this instance extends forward from the frame and is secured at D beneath the seat to form a hinge for the boot. such form as to fit the upper edge of the box from the seat rearward, so that the boot as a whole may form a neat and effectual closure for this'portion of the box, excluding dust and concealing any articles that may be placed therein.

Beneath the seat there is shown in this instance a cross bar E, forming a part of the body, and to this is fixed a horizontal rearwardly-projecting double post F, having its branches forked to form'bearings for an arm G, which extends rearward and is attached to the. rear side of the boot. The forward end of the arm has two branches which fit between the branches of the post and are provided with short pivotal studs H, lying in the The boot-frame is Of' forked branches of the post, respectively, and aboutthese studs the arm swings as the boot is o ened-and closed. As the axes of rotation of t e arm and of the boot are not coincident,

the point of the arms attachment to the boot does not remain at a fixed distance from the pivots H, and therefore the arm is made readily extensible by providing a part G to slide in a tubular rear portion G which has at its rear end a flat plate of pliable metal provided with a lip G stamped up to engage the forward edge of the rear member of the bootframe, about whose rear edge the plate is bent upward, thus firmly attaching the arm without the use of tools.

The arm-pivots being above the rear end of the box, the arm normally extends obliquely downward and rearward and then horizontally just below the boot to the point of attachment, which is at the rear end of the boot and box. A spring-coil J, normally under tension, lies between the branches of the post and arm and is attached to the base of the post at F approximately in the horizontal plane of the pivots H and at the other end is secured to the arm at a point J normally below the plane of the pivots. The spring, which is preferably a strong one, thus normally subtends the angle formed by the post and arm and tends to decrease that angle, or, in other words, it pulls'the arm downward and presses the rear end of the boot very firmly down upon the box. If the boot be forcibly lifted to the osition of Fig. 1, the spring swings upward until the line of its strain crosses the pivotal axis, after which the spring tends to swing the boot still farther opens The opening is limited, however,

by providing at least one of the pivots H with a wing H, which strikes the upper wall of the corresponding fork of the post and revents farther advance of the arm. Thus t e boot, which may as it could be if simply hinged, is held open when opened and when closed is pressed down so strongly that practically no wear nor rattling can occur. The pressure, although very considerable, is exerted at the rear side of the frame, and hence the frame may be made very light, so that it is but slightly acted upon by sudden movements of the body, its possible momentum being tri- Were the rear side of the boot to be pressed downwith equal force transmitted by the frame itself the frame would obviously be opened and closed as quickly need to \be much heavier. {It-maybe noted also that the devices may be easily attached to any buggy of proper qform'without lmanting any visible part in the least and without the use of tools other than a screw-driver.

Fi 5 and 6 show two bars J J, pivoted toget er or jointed at J and further connected by a spring-coil L, secured to the bars at some dlstance from the pivotal point and always tending to resist the approach of the bars to'a straight line. This device is similar in principle to the better form shown in the :other figures as a forked post and iforked arm, and if it be to erly connected to the parts it-will also ho d t e boot open-or closed, as theoase may be.

What we-claim is- 1. The combination with a bracketadapted to be fixed beneath-the seat-of-a buggy, of a laterally-rigid, extensible arm hinged to said bracket to swing verticall and aving its free end-adapted for attac out to the rear side ofa buggy-boot.

2. The combination with the vehicle-body and the boot hinged near the rear side of the seat, of the double post :fixed below the boots axis of rotation, t e forked arm pivoted at one=end to the 0st and at the other engaging the free side of the boot, and :the spring normally under tension and connecting a point near the baseof the post to a point upon said arm normally fbelow tthe honizontal plane of the arms pivot.

3.. As a new article of mannfaoture, a buggy-boot-closing device compnsmg a post adapted (to be fixed to the body beneath the seat, an arm pivotally connected with said post .and at its rear end consisting ofthm-phable metal adapted to enga e the rear mem- -ber of a boot by simple ben ing, and a spring ing segments, and having its firee end adapted for attachment to the rear edgeof-a bugfiyboot, and a spring -conneeting said bra et and arm and arranged to swing hem side to side of the arm's pivot when the arm swings as in opening and clodng :the boot.

In testimony whereo -=we afii-x our signatures -in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS 'BARTHOLOMEW. FRANK Witnesses: PEARL T. BEL H: 0. 'BnL r. 

